Method of and system for collaboration web-based publishing

ABSTRACT

A system and method directed to controlling work flow for a document is disclosed. The system comprises a document control module comprising a document engine and a document portion, a workflow control module for tracking and assigning work on the document portion, and a Web-based interface coupled to the document control module and the workflow control module. The system is configured to couple to a remote host over a network such as the Internet. Preferably, the document is automatically formatted to include XML tags, which allows the document to be searched and otherwise controlled more easily. Preferably, the system also comprises a search engine for searching through the document portion using a variety of search criteria. Preferably, the system is configured to import search results into the document.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to electronic documents. More particularly, thisinvention relates to electronic documents having a single interface thatallows a user to modify, track, publish, search through, and importcontent into the electronic documents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many projects, given their size and complexity, require thecollaboration of many individuals. A product installation manual, forexample, has many sections, each having detailed specifications for theproduct. Each section may be edited by one or more individualsknowledgeable in the material contained in the section. Coordinating andtracking work on the documents is generally referred to as “product workflow.”

In one prior art system, company employees can check-out a document towork on it and then check it back in when done. The system tracks thechanges everyone makes, a method called versioning. The system sendse-mail alerts to let others know of the changes. The system may alsoinclude a separate message board where employees can talk about thedocument. When the document is finished, it may be locked by anadministrator and made available for searches on the company's intranet.

This prior art system integrates Microsoft Outlook™, Microsoft Word™, aserver-based document repository, a server-based full-text searchengine, a message board, and some type of project management or workflowapplication. The system may also include reporting tools that will readthrough the communications and present the administrator with variousstatistics.

This system has several drawbacks. First, information is contained inWord documents. Search queries among a number of documents tell userswhich documents contain the search terms, but the queries do not tellthe user where in the document the search terms are found. The user muststill look through each document to determine where the search terms arelocated. Second the documents are not easily accessible to multipleusers, especially those at remote locations such as customer sites.Third, the documents cannot be easily or quickly edited and reformattedfor display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention include a method of and a systemfor generating, organizing, editing, and searching through an electronicdocument. The embodiments provide a Web-based graphical user interfaceto the document, allowing users from remote locations to quickly andeasily access the document. The embodiments also provide an easy way toassign sections of the document for users to work on, and a way to trackthe progress on those sections. The embodiments allow the document to bepublished in a variety of formats.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a systemcomprises a document control module comprising a document engine and adocument portion; a workflow control module for tracking and assigningwork on the document portion; and a Web-based interface coupled to thedocument control module and the workflow control module. The workflowcontrol module provides a plurality of sets of functions to be performedon the document portion, each set of functions corresponding to a typeof user. Preferably, a first type of user has a corresponding first setof functions, the first set of functions comprising adding a user to thesystem, adding a book to the system, and assigning work to a user. Asecond type of user has a corresponding second set of functions, thesecond set of functions comprising assigning work to a user, creating achapter in a book, and creating sections in the chapter. A third type ofuser has a corresponding third set of functions, the third set offunctions comprising editing a section of the book and reporting acompletion status for work on the section of the book.

Preferably, the workflow control module comprises a plurality of panels,each panel associated with a workflow for one or more sections of thedocument portion. A first panel from the plurality of panels contains anidentifier corresponding to the location of a second panel from theplurality of panels.

In other embodiments, the identifier comprises a link to the secondpanel. Preferably, the first panel comprises a first Web page, thesecond panel comprises a second Web page, and the link comprises auniform resource locator for the second Web page. In another embodiment,the document portion comprises markers corresponding to headings withinthe document portion. The markers comprise Standard Generalized MarkupLanguage (SGML) tags, such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML) orHypertext Markup Language (HTML) tags. Alternatively, the markers areRich Text Format (RTF) control words. The document control enginecomprises a formatting engine configured to automatically embed themarkers within the document portion in response to an input from theWeb-based interface.

In other embodiments, the system further comprises a host coupled to theWeb-based interface. A Web browser executes on the host. The host iscoupled to the Web-based interface over a local area network or over awide area network such as the Internet. Alternatively, the host iscoupled to the Web-based interface over a secure channel such as avirtual private network.

In other embodiments, the document control engine is configured toimport an object into the document portion in response to a commandreceived on the Web-based interface. The object is one of a sound file,an image file, a table, and a video clip.

In other embodiments, the workflow control module comprises a Libraryarea containing a book identifier, a corresponding status display, and acorresponding due date. The workflow control module also comprises aBook Overview panel containing a plurality of entries, each entry havinga title area, an owner area, and a status area. The status area containsa completion percentage area. The document control module comprises apublishing engine configured to publish the document portion in aselected format. The selected format is one of Portable Document Format(PDF), Rich Text Format, HTML, and XML.

In other embodiments, one of the plurality of panels comprises a commentfield. The document control engine further comprises a search engineconfigured to search within the document portion for a target usingsearch criteria. The search criteria comprises at least one of a daterange, a search term, a search area, a user type, and a user identity.The user type is one of an administrator, an editor, and a writer.Preferably, the search engine is configured to display a location withinthe document portion where the search term is found. The search engineis configured to display markers and text corresponding to the locationof search terms within the document portion. The markers correspond toheadings within the document portion.

In other embodiments, the headings correspond to at least one of a bookheading, a chapter heading, a section heading, and a sub-section headingof a book. The search area is one of text, a heading, an image, and atable. The document control module is configured to import the result ofone or more searches directly into the document portion. The Web-basedinterface is configured to allow both a primary user and a secondaryuser to access the search engine. The system is configured to collectone or more results of searches into a booklet, to format the booklet,and to transmit the formatted booklet to a host computer. Preferably,the booklet is formatted as a PDF file.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a systemcomprises a document control module comprising a document engine and adocument portion; a workflow control module for tracking and assigningwork on the document portion, the workflow control module comprising acommunications module for communication workflow information; aWeb-based interface coupled to the document control module and theworkflow control module; and a host coupled to the Web-based interfaceover a network.

In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, a method ofcontrolling workflow related to a document comprises accessing thedocument using a Web-based interface and using the Web-based interfaceto perform one of tracking a status relating to a completion of asection of the document, updating the status, and editing the document.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, a graphical userinterface comprises a first panel displaying headings, work assignments,and status of sections of a document; a second panel coupled to thefirst panel, the second panel containing a link to a section of thedocument; and a third panel for displaying the section of the document,the third panel configured for editing the section of the document. Thefirst panel, the second panel, and the third panel are all accessible toa host over a Web-based interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a user log-in screen in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a screen shot of an Administrator's Home page in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of an Administrator's Home page in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of the Administrator's Home page of FIG. 3, withadditional editors and writers added, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a screen shot of the Administrator Home page of FIG. 2, withadditional book titles, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a calendar for the completion of a book inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a Table of Contents for a book in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot of the Table of Contents shown in FIG. 7 withadditional sections added to titles in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of a Book Overview page in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a screen shot of the Book Overview page of FIG. 9, includinga pop-up window allowing the user to save a copy of the current bookwith a different title, commonly referred to as a “Save As” function, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a screen shot of a Person Overview page in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a screen shot of a Writer's Home page in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a screen shot of a Writing page in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a screen shot of the Writing page shown in FIG. 13, with apop-up window for a spell checker in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 15 is a screen shot of the Writing page shown in FIG. 13, with anembedded image in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 is a screen shot of the Writing page shown in FIG. 13, with apop-up of a Table Creation interface, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a screen shot of a Search page in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a screen shot of the result of running a search query, havingthe search criteria shown in FIG. 17, and showing the buttons that theuser can use to import search results into an existing or new book, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a screen shot of a Search page from which a secondary usersearches within documents in a system library.

FIG. 20 is a screen shot of a results page from which a secondary usercan generate a booklet, a collection of search results.

FIG. 21 contains a table containing XML tags used to store documents inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention allows users to more efficiently collaborate ondocuments, producing documents that are more accurate, more easilyupdated, and more accessible. For example, in accordance with thepresent invention, company field engineers are able to quickly viewproduct service manuals from customer sites. Using a single interface,the field engineers are able to access the service manuals; they areable to quickly search through the manuals for key terms, helping themto quickly troubleshoot malfunctioning products; they able to exchangemessages about the manual; they are able to update the manual to reflectproduct information discovered in the field; and they are able togenerate new service manuals, specifically tailored to a particularcustomer product. These and other advantages are achieved by theembodiments of the present invention.

As used below, manuals and other documents generated in accordance withthe present invention are referred to as “books.” As used herein “books”refers to electronic documents of many types, such as electronicmanuals, electronic research papers, and the like. “Book” refers to anydocument that includes but is not limited to text, images, workflow andtracking statistics, and other data about the book. The book alsooptionally contains formatting tags including but not limited to HyperText Markup Language (HTML) tags, Extensible Markup Language (XML) tags,other meta tags, as well as words used for formatting such as thoseembedded with rich text format (RTF) documents. It will be appreciatedthat books can be of any length and complexity. For example, a book canbe a single-page text document, such as a paper describing one featureof a product. Alternatively, a book can be a thousand-page documentdescribing a product in detail and containing XML tags marking sectionheadings, such as chapter headings, paragraph headings, and footnotes.Preferably, the book is stored in discrete parts in location as an XMLfile or in a structured query language (SQL) database.

A system in accordance with one embodiment of the present inventionallows users to log on to the system using a Web based interface toaccess one or more books. The system also allows users to write sectionsof the books, organize sections of the books, track the progress ofpersons working (editing) sections of the books, set completion duedates for sections of the books, assign the editing of sections topeople within an organization, add to the book links to Web sites thatusers may be interested in, exchange comments about sections of thebooks, search within the books, embed objects within the books,including but not limited to text files, still images, moving videoclips, tables, footnotes, and the results of searches. The system alsoallows users to publish portions of the books, exporting text, images,tables, and footnotes. Books can be published in a variety of formats tofit the situation at hand. For example, a user may wish to publish a PDFversion of the book for easy printing. Alternatively, a user may wish topublish an HTML version of a book for display on a Web site.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the systemallows various types of users with various privileges. For example, anAdministrator oversees the system and accordingly has the most extensiveprivileges. Among other privileges, the Administrator has the ability toadd a new book to the system, assign an Editor to a book, input newchapters and sections to a book, make books searchable, check the workprogress for specific individuals, add links of specific interest toindividuals working on a project. An Editor has fewer privileges than anAdministrator. And a Writer has even fewer privileges, being able onlyto view sections of the book that he is working on. As used herein, theterm “user” is used to refer to Administrators, Editors, and Writers.

FIG. 1 shows a graphical user interface (GUI) log-in screen 100, havinga user name input field 105, a password input field 110, and a reminderlink 115 that takes the user to a Help Web page (not shown) that helpshim remember his password. A user logging in from a customer site wouldreach the log-in screen after loading the Web page on a host at thecustomer site. The Help Web page may contain a hint, it may e-mail thepassword to a secure account where the user can read it, or it mayprovide other means to help the user log on. In a preferred embodiment,the user's identity will determine what functions he is able to performon documents and other files within the system. It will be appreciatedthat if the user's login information does not match an entry in thelogin database, the user will not be allowed access to the system.

Preferably, the log-in screen is a Web page that the user accesses froma remote location, such as over a wide area network coupling a host at acustomer site with a host on which the system of the present inventionexecutes. Preferably, the remote host executes a Web client that allowsthe user to communicate with a Web-server that forms part of the system.It will be appreciated that in other embodiments the system runs onmultiple hosts comprising a Web server and a back-end databasecontaining books, a login database, other programs and data, or anycombination of these. Preferably, the back-end database or anotherback-end database also stores a list of users allowed access to thesystem, their passwords, their status (Administrator, Editor, orWriter). It will be appreciated that other configurations can be used inaccordance with the present invention. Preferably the wide area networkcomprises a secure channel such as a virtual private network (VPN) onthe Internet. It will be appreciated that other channels can be used,such as non-secure Internet connections, local area networks, wirelessnetworks, or any other connection. Preferably, the system is configuredto couple with the host over connections automatically established byhandshaking protocols or by parameters set within the system or theremote host.

It will also be appreciated that information such as log in screens canbe presented to a user using panels other than Web pages. As usedherein, a panel is a frame of data presented to a user on an electronicdisplay using any one of a variety of formats. Thus, for example, in oneembodiment a panel is a Web page displaying a user screen such as alogin screen.

In the preferred embodiment, after an Administrator has successfullylogged on, he is brought to the Administrator Home Page 200, shown inFIG. 2. The Administrator Home Page 200 contains (a) a New Book area 205having a Title field 206 and an associated Add button 207, (b) an Add orName Users area 210 having a Go button 211, (c) an Add “What's Up” Linkarea 215 having a Link field 220, a Comment field 221 with an associatedUp arrow 222 and a Down arrow 223, and an Add button 224, (d) a Current“What's Up” Links area 225 having a Link field 226 and a Delete button227, (e) a Library area 230 having a first entry 231, the first entry231 having a Title field 232, an Editor field 233, a Status bar 234, aDue Date field 235, and a corresponding Delete button 236, and (f) aPeople area 240 having a first entry 241, the first entry 241 having aName field 242, a Rank field 243, and an Average Status bar 244. Each ofthese areas is discussed in more detail below.

It will be appreciated that other users of the system, Editors andWriters, will be brought to a screen different from that shown in FIG.2. The screen shown Editors and Writers will display only thosefunctions for which the Editors and Writers have privileges. Forexample, a screen displayed to a Writer who has just logged on will notallow the Writer to add users as provided by the Go button 211 in theAdd or Name Users area 210.

As used herein, a Web page refers to any document that can be displayedby a Web browser. In accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, a Web page includes but is not limited to (1) a staticdocument, generated once so that a copy of it is transmitted to a clientthat accesses it, (2) a dynamic document, generated by an applicationprogram running on the Web server when a Web browser requests thedocument, or (3) an active document, generated by an application programrunning on a client host. It will be appreciated that the contents ofdynamic and active documents are determined by any number of criteriaincluding, but not limited to, the identity of the user requesting thedocument, the parameters sent as part of the request, and the time ofday. Thus, as described in more detail in some of the examples below,when a user accesses a portion of a book, the book's table of contentsis automatically generated and displayed to the user. The table ofcontents constantly changes throughout the document generation process,as chapters are added and deleted, and other sections of the book areupdated. The table of contents thus cannot be stored as a staticdocument. Preferably, Web pages, such as tables of contents, aregenerated at a central location such as a Web server. It will beappreciated, however, that in accordance with the present invention Webpages can be generated on client hosts (e.g., remote locations fromwhich a field engineer is working) or at other locations.

As used herein, the term “identifier” refers to any means foridentifying an object, such as a user, a book title, or an interestingarticle. Similarly, “heading” refers to an identifier for a book,chapter, section, and subsection. In one embodiment, a heading is atitle. Preferably, an identifier refers to a URL for a particularobject. For example, a user identifier refers to a URL link to a user'shome Web page. In the drawings for this specification, underlinedelements denote URL links. Thus, the user identifier Bill refers to aURL for a Web page. When a page is displayed using a Web browser and auser selects the element Bill, the URL contained in the link Bill willbe automatically loaded and the corresponding Web page generated, ifnecessary, and displayed. Web pages can also contain embedded referencesto other Web pages. As used herein, an element can be “selected” bynavigating a cursor over the element and then clicking on a mousebutton. Alternatively, an element can be selected by touching it such aswhen it is displayed on a touch-sensitive screen. It will be appreciatedthat elements can be selected in other ways.

In operation, an Administrator is able to activate the Title field 206and enter the title of a new book. When the Administrator enters thetitle and selects the Add button 207, a new book with the title isautomatically created. It will be appreciated that any field such as theTitle field 206 is activated by positioning a cursor within the fieldand selecting the field such as by clicking the button on a mouse.

Still referring to FIG. 2, after the Administrator has entered a titlein the Title Field 206 and clicked on the Add button 207, he can scrollto any other field within the Administrator Home Page 200. Preferably,if the Administrator wishes to add the names of users already in thesystem or to add the names of new users, he presses the Go button 211,which brings the user to the Add User Page 300 shown in FIG. 3 anddiscussed below. The Administrator may do this to allow the new users toaccess the system. The Administrator then has the ability to assign workand grant other privileges to these new users. If the Administratorwishes to add a User Resource Location (URL) link that visitors to thebook may find interesting, he activates that Link field 220 and inputs aURL. In addition, the Administrator can also input a comment into theComment field 221, for example, explaining what can be found at the Webpage addressed by the URL in the Link field 220. The Administrator canscroll up or down within the Comment field 221 by using the Up arrowbutton 222 or the down arrow button 223, respectively. After editing theURL in the Link field 221, the comments in the Comment field 222, orboth, the user is able to add both to the book by selecting the Addbutton 224.

The Administrator can also view current links in the Current “What's Up”Links area 225. These links will appear at the top of the Writers' homepages and contain links to resources on the Internet or Intranet that amanger wants everyone to read. An Administrator or Editor can highlighta link in the Link sub-field 226 (none are shown here) and then deleteit by selecting the Delete button 227. When a user clicks on the Addbutton 224, the page reloads and the What's Up link appears in theCurrent “What's Up” Links area 225. When a user selects the deletebutton 227, the page reloads without the What's Up link on it anymore.

Within the Library area 230, the user is able to view the status of thebook having the title in the Title field 232, the editor whose nameappears in the Editor field 233, the status in the Status bar 234, andthe due date in the Due Date sub-field 235. The user is able to deletethis book from the library by selecting the Delete button 236. Asdescribed in more detail below, the Library area 230 contains a list ofbooks in the system and status for each book.

Finally, the user is able to view the progress of each person working onthe book. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the user with the name BillSmith in the Name field 251, has the rank 12 shown in the Rank field252, an average status of 15%, shown by the Average Status bar 252.

It will be appreciated that while FIG. 2 has described a usersequentially accessing the areas, New Book area 205, Add or Name Usersarea 210, Add “What's Up” link area 215, Current “What's Up” Links area225, Library area 230, and People area 240, a user is able to access anynumber of fields or areas in any order.

FIG. 3 shows an Add or Name Users page 300, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention, which the user is taken to when heselects Go button 211 of FIG. 2. The Add or Name Users page 300 containsa User Home link 305, a User Summary Section 310, a Name New Usersection 340, and an Existing Users section 340. The Home link 310 is aURL that when selected takes a user back to his Home page. Preferably,each user has a Home page with a format dependent on the user type. Forexample, in one embodiment, an Administrator's Home page lists theprojects within the system and the status of each; a Writer's Home liststhe projects he is currently working on and the status for each.

The User Summary Section 320 has (1) a first line 315 displaying thePool of Administrators 321 (here, 2) and the number of availableAdministrators in the Pool 322 (here, 1), (2) a second line 320displaying the Pool of Editors 331 (here, 5) and the number of availableEditors (here, 5), (3) a third line 325 displaying the Pool of Writers341 (here, 30) and the number of available Writers 342 (here, 30), and(4) a Purchase Additional Users button 245, which when selected allowsadditional users. Dashed lines in the User Summary Section 310 andthroughout the following explanations are shown for readability andgenerally are not displayed in the User Summary Section 310. In apreferred embodiment, the system is configured to support apredetermined number of administrators, editors, and writers. If acompany licensing the system desires more, it is charged an amountrelated to the type of additional users requested.

In the Name New User section 340, a User Type field 349 contains checkboxes next to each type of user. The User Type field 349 contains acheck box 341 associated with an Administrator, a check box 342associated with an Editor, and a check box 343 associated with a writer.The Name New User area 340 also contains a Name field 345, a PasswordField 346, and a Confirm Password Field 347. For the example shown inFIG. 3, the check box 342 has been checked, indicating that the new useris an editor. The user has the name “Bill”, entered into the Name field345. A password is entered into the Password field 346 and reentered, toconfirm the password, into the Confirm Password field 347. As shown inFIG. 3, for security, the password preferably is not echoed when typedinto either the Password field 346 or the Confirm Password field 347.After a user has checked one of the check boxes 341, 342, and 343, andinput the name and password into the Name field 344, the Password field346, and the Confirm Password field 347, the user selects the Add button348 to add the new user to the system.

The Existing Users area 350 displays information about the usersexisting in the system database. The Existing Users area 350 contains anAdministrators area 355, an Editors area 360, and a Writers area 365.The Existing Users area 350 shows that there is only one Administratorcurrently in the system, denoted by a user identifier, the link “Ben”356. Preferably, the link “Ben” 356 indicates the name of the user andalso provides a link to the user's Home page. Because the Editors area360 contains no links, no editors are currently recognized by the system(e.g., not stored in a user database). Similarly, because the Writersarea 365 contains no links, there are no writers currently in thesystem.

FIG. 4 shows an Add or Name Users page 400, which is the Add or NameUsers page 300 after editors have been added to the Editors area 360 andwriters have been added to the Writers area 365. Identical numbers inthe figures refer to the same element. In the exemplary Add or NameUsers page 400 shown in FIG. 4, within the Editors area 360, a useridentifier “Bill” 361 and its associated Delete key 362, and a useridentifier “Charlie” 363 and its associated Delete key 364 have beenadded. Within the Writers area 365, a user identifier “Matt” 366 and itsassociated Delete key 368 and a user identifier “Jane” and itsassociated Delete key 369 have been added.

FIG. 5 shows the Administrator's Home page 500, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, after books have been added to it.The Administrator' Home page 500 differs from the Administrator's Homepage 200 in that it has modified “Current ‘What's Up’ Links” area 235,Library area 550, and People area 560. The Current “What's Up” Linksarea now contains a first area 535 and a second area 540. The first area535 contains a link http://www.important_vendor_site.com 531, a comment532, and a Delete key 533. The second area 540 contains a linkhttp://www.important_media_site.com 541, a comment 542, and anassociated Delete key 543. The information contained in the first area535 and the second area 540 were added by entering the information intothe appropriate fields in the Add “What's Up” Link area 215 andselecting the Add key 224.

The Library area 550 contains a plurality of entries 550A, 550B, 550C,and 550D. The entry 550A has a Title area 551, an Editor area 552, aStatus area 553, and a Due Date area 554. The Title area 551 contains atitle identifier 551A and a table of contents (TOC) link 551B.Preferably, the title identifier 551A and the TOC link 551B are a URL,containing the address of a Web page on the VPN. As shown in FIG. 5, thetitle identifier 551A has the URL “Installing Optical Router Model PT67”and the table of contents identifier 551A has the URL “TOC”. The Editorarea 552A contains the text “Charlie”. The Status area 553 contains adisplay indicating that the book titled “Installing Optical Router ModelPT67” is 40% complete. The Due Date area 554 contains text 554Adisplaying that the due date is May 10, 2004 and also contains a Deletebutton 554B.

Similarly, the People area 560 contains one entry 560A having a Namefield 561 containing the user identifier “Bill” 561A, a Rank field 561Bcontaining the text “Editor”, thereby identifying the user “Bill” as aneditor, and an average status field 561C, containing a status barindicating that the average status for all the projects that Bill isworking on is 30% complete.

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a Table of Contents page 600, which can beloaded, for example, when a user selects the TOC link 551B of FIG. 5.The Table of Contents page 600 contains a Title area 615, an Editor area620, a Due Date area 630, and a Task area 640. The Title area 615contains a book identifier “Calibrating Optical router PT67”, the Editorarea 620 contains the pull-down menu 625 from which an editor can beselected, and the Due Date area 630 contains a Due Date button (notshown). The Task area 640 contains an Insert New button 635 and otherbuttons (not shown). When the Due Date button is selected, a drop-downcalendar 641 is displayed, indicated by a clock 642 on the scheduled duedate. By selecting another date on the pull-down calendar 641, a new duedate is scheduled.

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of the Table of Contents Page 600 after theInsert New Button 635 has been selected. As shown in FIG. 7, when theInsert New Button 635 has been selected, a pop-up 650 appears. Thepop-up 650 contains a text area 651 for entering the title of a newchapter and an OK button 652 which the user selects after entering thetitle in the text area 651.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot of a Table of Contents page 800 after multipleChapters and sections have been added using the Insert New button 635 ofFIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 8, The Table of Contents page 800 contains aHeader area 801 and a plurality of sections 810 and 820. While FIG. 8shows the Table of Contents page 800 containing two sections 810 and820, it will be appreciated that the Table of Contents page 800 containsone section or more than one section if appropriate. The Table ofContents page 800 preferably contains more than two sections. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 8, each section corresponds to a chapter in abook, with each section containing sub-sections. It will be appreciatedthat each sub-section can itself contain sub-sections or other units oforganization.

The Header area 801 contains a Title area 805, an Editor area 806, and aDue Date area 807, which have been explained above in reference to FIG.7. The section 810 contains a first part 811, a second part 812, a thirdpart 813, a fourth part 814, a fifth part 815, and a sixth part 816. Asdescribed below, the parts are organized hierarchically, as chapters andsections in a book. It will be appreciated that in accordance with thepresent invention, parts are alternatively organized using otherrelationships. The first part 811 contains an Insert New button 811A, aSearch button 811B, a title “Chapter 1: Overview”, an editor pull-downmenu 811D, and a reorganization section 811E. The editor name shown inthe editor pull-down menu is shown as the user with the user identifier“Bill” but can be changed by selecting another user identifier using thepull-down menu. Pull-down menus such as the pull-down menu 811Da areused to assign each corresponding Chapter, Section, or Sub-section to aWriter or an Editor. Preferably, Editors also have access to thisfunctionality. Everyone in the Administrator's group, including theAdministrator, appears in this list. The reorganization section 811E hasa left arrow button 811E1, an up arrow button 811E2, a right arrowbutton 811E3, and a down arrow button 811E4, each described in moredetail below.

As shown in FIG. 8, the book is arranged in a tree hierarchicalstructure. The book contains parts 810 and 820. The part 810 contains afirst part 811, containing a first sub-part 812 and a second sub-part814. The first sub-part 812 contains two sub-parts, with titles in thefields 813C1 and 813C2. The second sub-part 814 contains a twosub-parts, with titles in the fields 815C1 and 815C2.

Each part of the book has an Insert New button and a Search button. Whenthe Insert New button is selected, the system will generate a new partin the same hierarchical level as that of the section from which theInsert New button was pressed. Thus, for example, if the Insert Newbutton 813A is selected, a pop-up menu 860 is displayed. The pop-up menu860 is titled “Sub-section 1.1.3”, indicating that the new section willbe on the same level as the other parts in 813. After the user inputs atitle into field 861 and selects the OK button 862, a new section 1.1.3with the entered title is created and displayed in the Table of Contentspage 800.

When a user selects the Search button 811B, a search page (FIG. 17) isdisplayed. Here, the user is able to search through all of the documentsa client has created in the system, select text chosen from searchresults, and import the search result into the current book by selectingthe “Add to Book” button (e.g., FIG. 18, elements 1821, 1822, or 1823).Thus, in accordance with the present invention, a user is able to importsearch results directly into an existing document, without copying andpasting. Thus, unlike prior art systems, a user within a first documentdoes not have to search on a search term within a library of targetdocuments, load a target document containing the search term, navigateto the location where the search term is located, copy the desired text,close the target document, reload or toggle to the first document, andpaste the copied text into the desired location. These prior art stepswill be repeated for each document within the library containing thesearch term. It will be appreciated that the methods and devices inaccordance with the present invention obviate these steps, reducingdocument generation time and minimizing errors. Searching and importingsearch results in accordance with the present invention are is discussedin more detail below, for example, in the discussion of FIGS. 17 and 18.

The reorganization section 811E allows a user to re-order chapters,sections, and sub-sections. The left-arrow key 811E1 and the right-arrowkey 811E3 move the sub-section 1.2.3 within the hierarchy. For example,referring to FIG. 8, if the left-arrow key 811E1 is selected once, thesub-section 1.2.3 is made a section, on the same level in the hierarchyas “Chapter 1: Overview”. Alternatively, if the right-arrow key 811E3 isselected once, the sub-section 1.2.3 will become a sub-section of itssection, e.g. sub-section 1.2.3.1. When a user clicks once on theup-arrow key 811E2, the sub-section 1.2.3 is moved to a highersub-section, thus becoming sub-section 1.2.2; the previous section 1.2.2becomes the new sub-section 1.2.3. When a user clicks once on thedown-arrow key 811E4, the sub-section 1.2.3 is moved to a lowersub-section, thus becoming sub-section 1.2.4; the previous section 1.2.4becomes the new sub-section 1.2.3.

The pull-down menus 811D, 812D, 813D1, and 813D2 are used to allow anAdministrator or Editor to assign each chapter, section, or sub-sectionto a writer or an editor. Each pop-down menu includes the name ofeveryone in an Administrator's group, including the Administrator.

Referring again to FIG. 5, when a user selects a book title, he isbrought to a corresponding Book Overview page. Thus, for example, if theuser selects the title identifier 555A “Calibrating Optical Router ModelPT67”, the Book Overview page 900 shown in FIG. 9 is automaticallyloaded and displayed to the user. The Book Overview page 900 has a Titlearea 905 and a plurality of entries 910, 915, 920, 925, and 930,arranged in a hierarchical fashion. The Book Overview page 900 alsocontains a Task area 960 and a Document area 970. The first entry 910has a Title element 910A containing the text “Chapter 1: Overview”, aWho element 910B containing the text “Bill”, a “% Complete” element 910containing a task bar indicating a 60% completion percentage for theentry, a “Date last Changed” element 910D containing the date Jan. 14,2004, a “Comment Posted?” element 910E containing the text “No”, a“Feedback Request?” element 910F containing the text “No”, and anApproved element 910G containing the text “No”. The entries are arrangedin the same hierarchical fashion as shown in FIG. 8.

The Comment Posted element 910E refers to a comment that the writerinput at the comments interface next to the creative interface on theWriting page 1300 (FIG. 13) that he or she is working on. Selecting thelink opens the Writing page, with the section being discussed in thewriting panel and the comment in the appropriate comment panel.Similarly, the Feedback Request element 910F means that the writerworking on the section asked the Administrator (Ben) to read this andgive feedback. Selecting the appropriate link preferably does the samething as selecting the “Yes” link next to it, opening the Writing pagewith the section in question in the test box. The name is made a link sothat the user can more easily find the feedback requests directed tohim.

Elements contain text or identifiers. Thus, for example, the entry 930has a “Comment Posted?” element 930E containing the Comment identifierYes, which hides a link to a comment posted on another page. Thus, whena user selects the Yes identifier contained in the element 930E, the Webpage containing the comment is automatically loaded so that the user isable to read it.

The task area 960 contains a “Go to TOC” button 960A, a “Preview” button960B, a “Save As” button 960C, and a “Make Live for Searches” button960D. When a user selects the “Go to TOC” button 960A, the system willload the Table of Contents page for the current book. For example, ifthe user clicks on the “Go to TOC” button 960A, the Table of Contentspage 800 shown in FIG. 8 will be loaded. When a user selects the“Preview” button 960B, the document, finished or not, will open as a Webpage. If a user selects the “Save As” button 960C, a pop-up window 1000,shown in FIG. 10, will we displayed. As shown in FIG. 10, the pop-upwindow 1000 contains a text field 1010 and an “OK” button 1011. Afterthe user enters a file or other name into the text field 1010 andselects the “OK” button 1011, an exact copy of the book currentlyaccessed will be saved with the name input into the text field 1010. Thecopy includes the text and information about the book including,comments, and assignments status information.

Again referring to FIG. 9, if a user selects the “Make Live forSearches” button 960D, all of the content of the current book isavailable to a search engine for searching. Preferably, only theAdministrator is able to use the “Make Live for Searches” button 960D.

Again referring to FIG. 9, a user is able to publish a book in multipleformats. For example, when a user highlights the PDF box 970A in thePublish area 970 and then selects the Publish button 970F, the currentbook is published in PDF format. Similarly, if the user highlights theRich Text Format box 970B, the HTML box 970C, or the XML box 970D, andthen selects the Publish button 970F, the current book will be publishedin RTF, HTML, or XML, respectively.

FIG. 11 shows a Person Overview page 1100 for the user Ben. A PersonOverview page shows the status of each section in the current bookassigned to a particular user. Thus, the Person Overview page 1100contains a user name 1101 and a Book Overview section 1105. The BookOverview Section 1105 contains a title 1104 (here, “Calibrating OpticalRouter PT67”) and a plurality of entries 1110, 1120, 1130, and 1140, anaverage completion area 1141 and a finished completion area 1142. TheBook Overview Section 1105 shows the sections of a book, in ahierarchical structure, similar to that shown in FIG. 8. Each entry hasa “Title” element, a “Who” element, a “% Complete” element, a “Date LastChanged” element, a “Comment Posted?” element, a “Feedback Request?”element, and an “Approved” element. Each of these elements is similar tosimilarly named elements in FIG. 9 and will not be further discussed indetail here. It will be noted that the Title elements in FIG. 11 containTitle identifiers, allowing a user to load the corresponding Web page byselecting the identifier.

FIG. 12 is a screen shot of a Writer's Home page 1200 for the user withthe user identifier “Matt”. The Writer's Home Page 1200 contains aWhat's Up area 1210 and a Status area 1220. The Status area 1220contains a plurality of entries including entry 1222. The entry 1222contains elements similar to those discussed above in relation to FIG.11. Underlined elements are links to sections that the user Matt isworking on. Selecting the underlined element will open the element inMatt's Writing page. Thus, for example, that Title element 1222Acontains a title “Chapter 2: Initial testing”. Selecting the titleidentifier 1222A will open the identified section in Matt's Writingpage. Thus, selecting the identifier “Chapter 2: Initial testing” willload the Writing Page 1300 shown in FIG. 13.

The Writing Page 1300 contains a link 1301 containing a URL to the pagefor “Calibrating Optical Router PT67”, a link TOC 1302 to the table ofcontents for the book “Calibrating Optical Router PT67”, a slider statusbar 1307 which a user can slide to indicate how much of the section hehas completed, a text section 1310, a function area 1320, a firstcomment section 1330, a second comment section 1340, a select drop-downmenu 1341 and a post button 1342. The text section 1310 containing thetext for the section titled “Chapter Two: Initial Testing”. Within thefunction area 1320, the B button 1320A, the I button 1320B, and the Ubutton 1320C are used to bold, italicize, and underline, respectively,portions of text within the text section 1320 that the user hashighlighted. The Insert Image button 1320D is used to insert an image ata location within the text section 1310 that the user has selected,preferably by placing the cursor at the location. The Insert Footnotebutton 1320E is used to insert a footnote at a location within the textsection 1310. The Insert Table button 1320F is used to insert a table ata location within the text section 1310. The Insert file button 1320G isused to insert a file at a location within the text section 1310. TheSpell Check button 1320H is used to check the spelling of words, theSave/Preview Chapter button 1320I is used to save and display in a Webformat, and the Save button 1320J is used to save the text within thetext section 1310. The first comment box 1330 displays a comment fromthe user with the user identification Bill, and the New comment box 1340provides an area that the current user (here, Matt) can input a comment.The To pull-down menu 1341 is used to select a user that the new commentin the New comment box 1340 will be addressed to. The new comment willbe posted when the user selects the Post button 1342.

FIG. 14 displays a Writer's page 1400, which represents the Writer'spage 1300 after the user has selected the Spell Check button 1320G shownin FIG. 13. The Writer's page 1400 contains a pop-up window 1401underlining misspelled words and allowing the user to replace a singleoccurrence of the misspelling or multiple occurrences of the samemisspelling. FIG. 15 displays a Writer's page 1500, the Write's page1300 after the user has selected the “Insert Image” button 1320D shownin FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 15, the user placed a cursor at thelocation 1509, selected the “Insert Image” button 1320D, and selected animage from a selection of images (not shown) presented to the user.After the user selected an image, the application puts at the chosenlocation the note: “Image: Photo of Back of Optical Router PT67”. Theapplication also places a link to the image in the list 1550. If theuser selects the link, an “Insert Image” interface (not shown) will beloaded from which the user can change the caption or the image.

FIG. 16 shows a Table Interface 1600 that pops up over the Writing page1300 when a user selects the Insert Table button 1320F of FIG. 13. TheTable Interface 1600 contains a drop-down menu that allows a user toformat the rows, columns, borders cell padding, cell border, and tablewidth for the table.

It will be appreciated that footnotes and tables are inserted into textin a format similar to that for inserting images. For example, if atable were embedded into the text, a message such as “Table: Settingsand Variables for Initial Conditions” would be inserted into the text ata location where the table is to appear. A link to the table would beplaced below the text area.

FIG. 17 shows a Search page 1700 that is loaded when a user searchesthrough a book by, for example, selecting the Search button 636 of FIG.7. The Search page 1700 contains a Search Term section 1705, a DateRange section 1710, a Return section 1720, a Search Area section 1725,an Authored By section 1730, a Search button 1750, and a Back to Topbutton 1755. In operation, a user is able to retrieve documents withinthe system (1) that contain one or more words by entering the words intothe “With all the Words” text area 1701 of the Search Term section 1705,(2) that contain an exact phrase by entering the phrase into the “Withthe exact phrase” text area 1702, (3) that contain at least one wordfrom among a group of words by entering the words into the “With atleast one of the words” text area 1703, (4) that do not contain one ormore words by entering the one or more words into the “Without thewords” text area 1704, or (5) any combination of 1 through 4. In theexample shown in FIG. 1700, documents will be searched to find any thathave the words “optimal” and “input” and “strength”, preferably by usinga Boolean AND search.

The user has the ability to select the date of the documents to besearched by selecting one of the check boxes in the Date Range area1710. In FIG. 1700, the “Last three months” check box has been selected,instructing the system to search only those documents that were createdwithin the last three months. Alternatively, the system would havechecked within the system for documents that were created at any date orthose created within the last year if the “Any time” check box or the“Last year” check box, respectively, were checked.

The user is able to select what documents elements are returned by thesearch by checking an appropriate box in the Return area 1720. Forexample, the system can return the title of the book, the title of achapter, the title of a section, or the title of a sub-section where thesearch terms were found. In FIG. 1700, the “Chapter” check box has beenselected, indicating that the search will return the chapter where thesearch terms were found. The user is able to select what areas within adocument are searched by the search engine by selecting the appropriatebox within the Search Area 1725. For example, all of the text within adocument, only headings, only images, or only tables can be searched. InFIG. 1700, the “All Text” check box has been selected, indicating thatthe all of the text within a document will be searched. By selecting theappropriate box in the Authored By section 1730, the user is able toinstruct the search engine to search documents written only by selectedauthors. For example, the search engine is able to search documentswritten by anyone, by an administrator (chosen using the pull-down menu1735), by an editor (chosen using the pull-down menu 1740), or by awriter (selected using the pull-down menu 1745). In FIG. 1700, the“Anyone” check box has been selected, indicating that the documentswritten by any author and satisfying the other search criteria will besearched. The search is initiated by selecting the Search button 1750.

FIG. 18 shows a Search Result page 1800 for a search performed using thesearch criteria in FIG. 17. The Search Result page 1800 shows the searchphrase 1801 entered in the field 1701 of FIG. 17, a first result 1820and a second result 1840. The first result shows the book title 1810,chapter title 1811, section title 1812, and sub-section title 1813 forthe section containing the search terms. The first few words of theresult are also shown in a Result Text Area 1825. Section 1840 of FIG.18 also shows that “Chapter 2: Initial Testing”, “Section 2.1 DetermineInitial Conditions”, Sub-Section 2.1.1: Input Strength” also containsthe search phrase. “Chapter 1: Overview” can be imported into thecurrent book by selecting the “Add to Book” button 1821; “Section 1.1:Calibration Objectives” can be added to the current book by selectingthe “Add to Book” button 1822; and “Sub-Section 1.1.2” OptimizingPerformance” can be added to the current book by selecting the “Add toBook” button 1823.

If the user selected the “Add to Book” button 1822, the applicationwould save the heading and text for Section 1.1 and the heading and textfor Sub-section 1.1.2. It would create a footnote at the end of eachtext showing normal footnote information for the source document. Theheadings would automatically appear in the Table of Contents of the bookthe user is creating, but with no one assigned to them.

The user is able to perform a new search or return to the table ofcontents by selecting the “New Search” button 1830 or the “Back to TOC”button 1835, respectively.

In accordance with the present invention, a secondary user (e.g., a userother than an Writer, Editor, or Administrator) has the ability tosearch through documents within a system library but does not haveaccess to the application. Thus, the secondary user can not writedocuments, edit documents, or perform administrative tasks relating tothe documents. This secondary user must be registered and is given asession-specific ability to generate a booklet, which is a collection ofsearch results that are published. Preferably, the system is configuredto determine whether a secondary user has registered on a specific Website and is accordingly able to access the search engine and anybooklets. Alternatively or additionally, the system is configured togenerate a separate registration page from which a secondary userregisters and then accesses the search engine and any booklets. Incontrast to a secondary user, as used herein the term “primary user”refers to a user that has access to the applications of the system. Theterm primary user thus refers to any one of an Administrator, an Editor,and a Writer.

FIG. 19 shows a Search Page (also called a Booklet) 1900 available to asecondary user. The Booklet 1900 is similar to the Search Page 1700, buthas a “Publish Booklet” button 1910. After the secondary user enters thesearch criteria in a manner similar to that for the Search Page 1700 andselects the “Search” button 1905, the Booklet 2000 shown in FIG. 20 isloaded and displayed. When search results are returned, as shown in theBooklet 2000, each result is followed by an “Add to Booklet” button,such as the “Add to Booklet” buttons 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004.Selecting any “Add to Booklet” button will cause the search result to beincluded in a session-specific PDF document. For example, selectingbutton 2001 will cause all of Chapter 1 and its sub-sections to beincluded in the secondary user's Booklet. Selecting button 2004 willcause Section 2.1 and all of its sub-sections to be included in theBooklet as well. Selecting the “Publish Booklet” button 2020 will allowthe secondary user to download a PDF containing his search results.After selecting the “Publish Booklet” button 2020, the pop-up display2015 will appear, allowing the secondary user to title the Booklet.

FIG. 21 shows a Table 1 of entries 2101-2123 for XML tags that aregenerated when a user creates a document in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention. Two element entries contain an XML tag in theleft-hand column and examples of sections relating to these entries.Thus, for example, entry 2101 shows the XML tag <book> that would beassigned to the book titled “Calibrating Optical Router PT67”. XML tagsare automatically generated and inserted into the text when a usercreates a section or other element. These XML tags allow a search engineto more efficiently search through a document and also allow acustomized Web browser to render the formatted document correctly. Forexample, if a user chooses to search only images by, for example,selecting the check box “Only Images” in the Search Area 1725 in FIG.15, the search engine will perform searches only within the<image></image> tags, whose opening tag is shown in entry 2115 of Table1.

It will be appreciated that while documents can be formatted in waysother than by using the XML tags shown in FIG. 21. For example,documents can be formatted using HTML tags, using control words used inRTF, to name a few formats that can be used in accordance with thepresent invention. Alternatively, documents do not have to be formattedbut can contain unformatted text.

In operation, a user logs into the system and is brought to his homepage. A first user, a Writer, logs in from a remote client location,where he is troubleshooting a router. He searches through documents inthe system library for documents containing chapters on “How toTroubleshoot a Router.” He finds these chapters by navigating to asearch screen and entering the search terms “Troubleshoot” and “Router”or by entering the search phrase “How to Troubleshoot a Router.” Theuser then imports the relevant chapters found by his search request intoa Booklet, publishes the Booklet in PDF format, and prints the Booklet.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a system 2200 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The system 2200 is coupled to auser host 2210 over a connection 2215. The connection 2215 is (1) aninternal connection such as when the user host 2210 runs on the sameplatform as the system 2200, (2) a local area network connection such asused for an Ethernet LAN, (3) a wide area network connection such asused to connect hosts over the Internet, or (4) any other type ofconnection between two hosts. Preferably, the connection 2215 is a widearea connection comprising the Internet. The system 2200 comprises aninterface 2225 coupled to a suite of application programs 2230, which iscoupled to a data repository 2235. Preferably, the user host 2210executes a Web browser and the system 2200 operates as a Web server. Inthe preferred embodiment, the interface 2225 is a Web-based interface.It will be appreciated that the interface 2225 can be another type ofinterface used to provide a graphical or other interface to the userhost 2210.

The data repository 2235 contains (1) documents (e.g., books) stored ina database, in XML formats, or in any other format suitable to store,retrieve, and edit documents, (2) document workflow information used toassign and track workflow for each document, (3) other informationrelating to documents including, but not limited to, comments and otherfiles. The suite of application programs 2230 satisfies user requeststhrough the interface 2225 to store, retrieve, edit, search through, andperform other functions on documents stored in the document repository2235. The suite of application programs 2230 also generates data totrack and update progress on the documents. Thus, the suite ofapplication programs can retrieve a document stored in the datarepository 2235, update comments related to the document and retrievedwhen the document is retrieved, generate current tracking and statusinformation relating to the document, such as a new writer or due date,and perform other functions. The suite of application programs 2230 thuspreferably comprises a document control portion for, among other things,editing the document and a workflow control portion for, among otherthings, tracking the workflow related to the document.

In operation, for example, a user on the user host 2210 generates arequest to edit a portion of a document (e.g., a book section). In oneembodiment, the request is generated by selecting an identifier such asa title of a book section. The request, which consists of a link to thebook section, is transmitted over the connection 2215 to the interface2225. The interface 2225 extracts the link and passes it to the suite ofapplication programs 2230. The suite of application programs 2230retrieves the book section from the data repository 2235 and passes thebook section on to the interface 2225. For example, if the book sectionis stored in a database in the document repository 2235, the suite ofapplication programs 2230 formats an SQL command to retrieve the booksection. If the book section is stored as a dynamic document, the suiteof application programs 2230 generates the book section, passes it on tothe interface 2225, which then transmits it to the user host 2210 overthe link 2215.

In one embodiment, the interface 2225 is a part of the suite of programs2230. In other embodiment, the data repository 2235 is distributedacross multiple hosts. Other embodiments are envisioned in accordancewith the present invention.

It will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that othermodifications can be made to the embodiments without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A system comprising: a. a document control module comprising adocument engine and a document portion; b. a workflow control module fortracking and assigning work on the document portion; and c. a Web-basedinterface coupled to the document control module and the workflowcontrol module.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the workflow controlmodule provides a plurality of sets of functions to be performed on thedocument portion, each set of functions corresponding to a type of auser.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein a first type of user has acorresponding first set of functions, the first set of functionscomprising adding a user to the system, adding a book to the system, andassigning work to a user.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein a secondtype of user has a corresponding second set of functions, the second setof functions comprising assigning work to a user, creating a chapter ina book, and creating sections in the chapter.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein a third type of user has a corresponding third set of functions,the third set of functions comprising editing a section of the book andreporting a completion status for work on the section of the book. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the workflow control module comprises aplurality of panels, each panel associated with a workflow for one ormore sections of the document portion.
 7. The system of claim 6, whereina first panel from the plurality of panels contains an identifiercorresponding to the location of a second panel from the plurality ofpanels.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the identifier comprises alink to the second panel.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the firstpanel comprises a first Web page, the second panel comprises a secondWeb page, and the link comprises a uniform resource locator for thesecond Web page.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the document portioncomprises markers.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the markerscorrespond to headings within the document portion.
 12. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the markers comprise SGML tags.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the SGML tags are XML tags.
 14. The system of claim12, wherein the SGML tags are HTML tags.
 15. The system of claim 10,wherein the markers are rich text format control words.
 16. The systemof claim 10, wherein the document control engine comprises a formattingengine configured to automatically embed the markers within the documentportion in response to an input from the Web-based interface.
 17. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a host coupled to the Web-basedinterface, the host configured to execute a Web browser.
 18. The systemof claim 17, wherein the host is coupled to the Web-based interface overa local area network.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein the host iscoupled to the Web-based interface over a wide area network.
 20. Thesystem of claim 19, wherein the wide area network comprises theInternet.
 21. The system of claim 17, wherein the host is coupled to theWeb-based interface over a secure channel.
 22. The system of claim 21,wherein the secure channel comprises a virtual private network.
 23. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the document control engine is configured toimport an object into the document portion in response to a commandreceived on the Web-based interface.
 24. The system of claim 23, whereinthe object comprises at least one of a sound file, an image file, atable, and a video clip.
 25. The system of claim 1, wherein the workflowcontrol module comprises a Library area containing a book identifier, acorresponding status display, and a corresponding due date.
 26. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the workflow control module comprises a BookOverview panel containing a plurality of entries, each entry having atitle area, an owner area, and a status area.
 27. The system of claim26, wherein the status area contains a completion percentage area. 28.The system of claim 1, wherein the document control module comprises apublishing engine configured to publish the document portion in aselected format.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the selected formatis one of PDF, Rich Text Format, HTML, and XML.
 30. The system of claim6, wherein at least one of the plurality of panels comprises a commentfield.
 31. The system of claim 1, wherein the document control enginefurther comprises a search engine configured to search within thedocument portion for a target using search criteria.
 32. The system ofclaim 31, wherein the search criteria comprises at least one of a daterange, a search term, a search area, a user type, and a user identity.33. The system of claim 32, wherein the user type is one of anadministrator, an editor, and a writer.
 34. The system of claim 32,wherein the search engine is configured to display a location within thedocument portion where the search term is found.
 35. The system of claim34, wherein the search engine is configured to display a marker and textcorresponding to the location of the search term within the documentportion.
 36. The system of claim 35, wherein the marker corresponds to aheading within the document portion.
 37. The system of claim 36, whereinthe heading corresponds to at one of a book heading, a chapter heading,a section heading, and a sub-section heading of a book.
 38. The systemof claim 37, wherein the search area is one of text, a heading, animage, and a table.
 39. The system of claim 37, wherein the documentcontrol module is configured to import the result of one or moresearches into the document portion.
 40. The system of claim 39, whereinthe Web-based interface is configured to allow both a primary user and asecondary user to access the search engine.
 41. The system of claim 40,wherein the system is configured to collect one or more results ofsearches into a booklet.
 42. The system of claim 41, wherein the systemis configured to format the booklet and transmit the formatted bookletto a host computer.
 43. The system of claim 42, wherein the formattedbooklet is a PDF file.
 44. A system comprising: a. a document controlmodule comprising a document engine and a document portion; b. aworkflow control module for tracking and assigning work on the documentportion, the workflow control module comprising a communications modulefor communicating workflow information; c. a Web-based interface coupledto the document control module and the workflow control module; and d. ahost coupled to the Web-based interface over a network.
 45. A method ofcontrolling workflow related to a document, the method comprising: a.accessing the document using a Web-based interface; and b. using theWeb-based interface to perform any one of tracking a status relating toa completion of a section of the document, updating the status, postinginformation relating to the document, and editing the document.
 46. Themethod of claim 45, further comprising performing a task on the documentportion, the task corresponding to a type of user.
 47. The method ofclaim 45, wherein using the Web-based interface comprises displaying oneor more panels, each panel associated with a workflow for one or moresections of the document.
 48. The method of claim 47, wherein one panelfrom the one or more panels contains an identifier corresponding to thelocation of a second panel from the one or more panels.
 49. The methodof claim 48, wherein the identifier is a uniform resource locator. 50.The method of claim 49, wherein each of the panels comprises a Web pageand the uniform resource locator is an address of a Web page.
 51. Themethod of claim 45, wherein the document comprises markers.
 52. Themethod of claim 51, wherein the markers correspond to headings withinthe document.
 53. The method of claim 52, wherein the markers compriseSGML tags.
 54. The method of claim 53, wherein the SGML tags are XMLtags.
 55. The method of claim 53, wherein the SGML tags are HTML tags.56. The method of claim 52, wherein the markers are rich text formatcontrol words.
 57. The method of claim 52, further comprising accessingthe Web-based interface to automatically embed the markers within thedocument.
 58. The method of claim 45, wherein accessing the documentcomprises communicating with the Web-based interface over a network. 59.The method of claim 58, wherein the network comprises a local areanetwork.
 60. The method of claim 58, wherein the host is coupled to theWeb-based interface over a wide area network.
 61. The method of claim60, wherein the wide area network comprises the Internet.
 62. The methodof claim 58, wherein the host is coupled to the Web-based interface overa secure channel.
 63. The method of claim 62, wherein the secure channelcomprises a virtual private network.
 64. The method of claim 45, whereinediting the document comprises embedding an object into the document.65. The method of claim 64, wherein the object is one of a sound file,an image file, a table, and a video clip.
 66. The method of claim 45,further comprising displaying a Library area containing a bookidentifier, a corresponding status display, and a corresponding duedate.
 67. The method of claim 45, further comprising displaying a BookOverview panel containing a plurality of entries, each entry having atitle area, an owner area, and a status area.
 68. The method of claim67, wherein the status area contains a completion percentage area. 69.The method of claim 45, further comprising publishing the document in aselected format.
 70. The method of claim 69, wherein the format is oneof PDF, Rich Text Format, HTML, and XML.
 71. The method of claim 47,further comprising displaying a comment corresponding to the document.72. The method of claim 45, further comprising searching within thedocument for a target using search criteria.
 73. The method of claim 72,wherein the search criteria comprises at least one of a date range, asearch term, a search area, and a user type.
 74. The method of claim 73,wherein the user type is one of an administrator, an editor, and awriter.
 75. The method of claim 74, wherein the search area is one oftext, a section heading, an image, and a table.
 76. The method of claim74, further comprising displaying a location within the document where asearch term is found.
 77. The method of claim 76, further comprisinggenerating a search result relating to markers corresponding to thelocation of search terms within the document.
 78. The method of claim77, wherein the markers correspond to at least one of a book title, asection heading, and image, and a table within the document portion. 79.The method of claim 77, further comprising importing a search resultinto the document portion.
 80. The method of claim 77, furthercomprising collecting one or more search results into a booklet.
 81. Themethod of claim 80, further comprising formatting the booklet andtransmitting the booklet to a client computer.
 82. The method of claim81, wherein the booklet is formatted to generate a PDF file.
 83. Agraphical user interface comprising: a. a first panel displayingheadings, work assignments, and status of sections of a document; b. asecond panel coupled to the first panel, the second panel containing alink to a section of the document; and c. a third panel for displayingthe section of the document, the third panel configured for editing thesection of the document, wherein the first panel, the second panel, andthe third panel are all accessible to a host over a Web-based interface.84. The graphical user interface of claim 83, wherein the first panel,the second panel, and the third panel are all Web pages.
 85. Thegraphical user interface of claim 84, wherein the second panel isconfigured to allow the document to be published in one of a selectedformat.
 86. The graphical user interface of claim 85, wherein theselected formation is selected from the group consisting of PDF, RTF,HTML, and XML.
 87. The graphical user interface of claim 83, wherein thethird panel further comprises a comment field.
 88. The graphical userinterface of claim 87 further comprising a fourth panel coupled to thesecond panel, the fourth panel configured to receive search terms and toinitiate a search within the document for the search terms and todisplay a search result within a fifth panel, the search resultcorresponding to a location within the document where the search termsare located.
 89. The graphical user interface of claim 88, wherein thefifth panel is configured to collect one or more search results into abooklet.
 90. The graphical user interface of claim 89, wherein the fifthpanel is configured to publish the booklet.